Manufacture of flanged beams



il 5 1927.- Apr N. c; RENDLEMAN MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS Filed. March 15. 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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v l 623 271 Aim] 1927' I N. c. RENDLEMAN MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS 4 Sheets-Shea 2 Filed March 15. 1923 I his Gttomwvo April 5 1927.

N. c. RENDLE MAN MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS Filed March 15.1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mark/ 0 62 Raid/2M1 his attoznmlf April 5, 1927-.

N. C. RENDLEMAN MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS Filed March 15. 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 War/770)] C. Fwd/mm.

' throii gh the bight Patented Apr. 5, 1 927.

NORMAN C. RENDLEMAN OF DORMONT,

LAUGHLIN STEEL CORPORATION, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA,

' TION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PATENT oFFic PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JONES &

MANUFACTURE OF FLANGED BEAMS.

Application filed March 15, 1923. Serial No. 625,342.

- This invention aims to improve processes of metal rolling, and is particularly applicable to rolling flanged structural members and beams having thin webs, such as I-beams and channels, of light weight and greater depth in proportion to weight than it has heretofore been considered practicable to produce or than could be readily produced by rolling processes heretofore commonly used. I A further aim of the'invention is to improve-metal rolling processes whereby the necessary changes in cross-sectional shape from the billet to the finished shape may be secured with a minimum reduction in crosssectional area, thus enabling thin sections to he completed at one heat.

Further aims and advantages of the invention appear hereinafter in connection with the illustrative mode of practicing the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fi 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the lower pair of mating-rolls of the first stand of a suitable threehigh rolling mill, the view being broken into two parts in order to get it on the sheet;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of two of the mating rolls of a second stand of three-high rolls suitable for completing the beam blank ready for finishing the beam;

Fig; 3 is an end view showing the outline or shape of the cross-section of the finished beam chosen for illustrating the process;

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing full size-the comparative shapes of the illustrative billet and blank at successive stages of the process;

Figs. 5 and 6 to the same scale showing .the lightest weight standard I-beams heretofore rolled by existing processes and the billets or blanks from which they are produced; and

Fig. 7 is a similar view drawn to the same scale of a light weight I-beam of the same depth as those shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and the billet from which it may be produced by my process.

In the rolling of very thin sections time is an important factor as the rolling must be completed before the temperature of the metal-becomes too low. My invention enables light, thin sections to be produced with fewer rolling passes than heretofore and are comparative views drawnhence shortens the time required to the limit within which the rolling may be completed at one heat. In the rolling of beams as hereit was impracticable to roll tofore practiced the very light sections to which my inven-' tion is applicable est rolling speeds available.

Special rolling mills are not required for practicing my invention, as suitable types of rolling mills in common use may be utilized for performing the operations comprised therein, horizontal mill having two standsof three rollls each, commonly termed a three-high mi 1.

Referring to Figs land 2, the successive passes are respectively designated by the numerals 1 to 8, inclusive, below or above the pass, depending upon whether the beam is passed below or above the middle roll in each instance in the case selected for illustration Also in order that the invention may be more readily understood. the outline of the cross-section of the 'billet or blank as 1t enters each pass is shown in dotted lines superposed upon the drawing of the pass in the relative position in which it enters the pass, passes 2, 4, 6

and 8 being shown inverted from their true positions.

For purposes of description the invention is illustrated in a suitable mode for the production of a ten inch I-beam 10 (see Fig. 8)

whose longest side is preferably about onehalf the depth of the beam (see Figs. 4 and 7). In the example selected for illustration the billet 13 is five inches square and weighs a little over ei hty pounds per foot, necessitating a reduction in cross-section and consequent elongation of about ten to one. This billet is much smaller in height and width than the blooms or billets required for producing flanged beams of the same depth by any rolling methods now in use (see Figs. 5

A GORPORA- that selected for illustration being aa beam may advantageously be within this time limit, even by the use of special facilities and the highappearing either and 6) andhenoe can be rolled to finished- Another advantage of my process is that-- the smaller billet required has sufficient length to be readily handled in the heating furnaces and on the rolling mill tables; whereas the considerably larger billets or blooms 21, 22 (see Fig. -'required for pro ducing the I-beam 23 by the groove rocess of rolling, and the equally large cam blank 24 (see Fig, 6) required for producing .the I-beam 25 by rolling in a universal mill, which were the only commercially practicable means heretofore available for rolling flanged'beams, are either too short to be readily handled in the furnaces and on the tables in the first passes or elife they produce too long a finished product to. be completed within the time available while the metal is at a rolling heat.

In the first. pass (see upper half of Fig. 1) the roll grooves'l, 1 of the middle and lower rolls are similar and are provided with central wedge shaped working collars to channel the billet'13 s reading in, the two passes (shown. i n dotted Inensions of the billet. in this rolling.

. the saving in time by the reductionin the number of passes thereby permittedf The invention is not restricted to any particular number of passes for this Wit ening and reducing operation, as this will neces: sarily be ati'ectedbythe results aimed at in different. cases and will depend on the condition of rolling. and theproducts desu-ec.

In the illustrative case, the-passes succeeding the second ass in the first. stand of rolls (see lower hall of Fig. 1) are designed to work on the diagonally opposite flanges of the blank to thin them in sets of two in alternation, at the same time separating them somewhat' and reducing the web to increase the depth and reduce the weight of the beam. For example, in the third pass the roll grooves 3, 3 are designed-to work the top left and bottom right hand flanges and the return pass (4th) has roll grooves 4, 4 designed to work theunworked flanges in the third pass.

The diagonally opposite arrangement of lines in Fig. 1) on both sides along its mid-- line and separate the edges so as tb spread the blank 30% to 50% in width, and thin its thickness at the middle to or more, preferably with a minimum reduction in cross-sectional area. The rcsultinghour glass shape blank 14 (see Fig. 4) is rolled through a second pass having similarly shaped roll grooves thin the middle portion 30% to 60% to form a web and to spread the flanged edges to expand the blank 10% to 25% more in width with a minimum reduction in cross-sectional area. This rapid deformation .is made possible by perm tting a considerable portion of the displaced metal to flow laterally into the flanges, as shown in 1.

. The resulting dumb-bell shape blank 15 (see Fig. 4 and lower half of Fig. 1) ma one or more passes having similar but wider grooves, until its width is over% of the. depth of the finished beam and its thlckness 2, 2 calculated to- .il.lustr ated,'the roll passcsjare' intended for at the edges ofthe flangesand through the' web is such that the areas of these portions exceed those of the'flanges and web of the finished beam in similar roportions. In the illustrative case in the rst pass the" billot is spread from a 5" by 5" square to a width of 7 (about'40% increase in width) and is reduced in 1 (a reduction of about the second pass the width is increased to 8% (about 19.6%) and the thickness is reduccd to (about 44.4%), the total being about and the reduction in thickness of the web being about 87 thickness at the middle to:

vantageously be designed to work insuccespalrs of "diagonal ly oppositeof the original diblank, atft heisame-"tilne sepag.

working grooves enables the principal axial plane of the blank and grooves-to be disposed at an inclination to the axis of rota tion of the rolls, thereby permitting the blank to free itself more-readily from the grooves, and thus relieves the guides and strippers. This arrangement is particularly advantageous in the rolling of. double flanged shapes (such as I-beams) having thin flanges, for it tends to avoid stripping the flanges from the web at high rolling speeds. a

The second stand of-rolls (see Fig. 2) maybe of any suitable blank to the desired shape for finishing. As

type for reducing the a three-high mill, and the roll grooves 5,

5 and, 6, 6 are an advanta-igeous manner to thin and separate them, the reduction inlarea "of the flanges and web in each MS") being proportionaL' Part of the metal and lower right flanges of seen in Fig. 2) is displaced sidewise b" the grooves 5, 5' of the fifth v creases. the ,de pth of the lank 18 therein formed" and a' similar sidewise displacement 0 .partof the metal of the opposite flanges is caused by the grooves 6, 6' of-the return pass (6th) which still further increases'the depth of the blank 19 formedthere1n..

of the seventh and eighth passes may-ad- Similarly, the roll grooves-5T sion upon theflanges of the of the upper left the blank 17 (as,

shaped so as to work upon v v diagonally opposite flanges of the blank in v if preferred be successively rolled through )ass and this in:

billet may be broken down into a blank rating them somewhat and reducing the web of flanges to produce the blank 21 (see Fig. 4

Rolling the flanges in alternation in this manner puts less strain upon the adjacentends of the web and hence contributes to the rolling of light sections having a thin web and thin flanges, and therefore is desirable, although not essential, to obtaining all the advantages of my invention.

The cross-sectional area and shape of the blank produced by the widening and reducing operations-may be controlled to suit the desired finished beam so that the beam may be readily completed by a single finishing pass through a universal mill of well known construction, or by other well known rolling mill methods of finishing such beams. Although not essential to the successful practice of the invention, it is desirablefrom the standpoint of; cost that the various operations be performed at such speed that the and rolled to the finished shape of the beam in one heat.

My invention is the first, so far as I am aware, that enables a thin web light weight beam to be completed at one heat, thus making it practical to produce such beams at a price that permits them to be sold in competition with wood joists and so-called metal lumber.

My invention has the further advantage, applicable to the production of all sizes and shapes of beams and girders, channels and other rolled sections. of utilizing a narrower billet for wide and deep shapes than has heretofore been found practical, thereby not only reducing the rolling costs by lessening.

the reduction in area required, but also permitting the use of longer 'billets and thus expediting the heating and saving furnace space as well as facilitating handling in the earlier rolling operations.

It is obvious that the invention is not restricted to any particular-shapes ordiluensions of rolled beams and structural members, nor to the use of all ofthe steps described above in' the illustrative process.

No claim is made herein to the' light weight beam produced by the practice of my invention, as that is the subject matter of another application for patent.

Having described an' illustrative mode of practicing my invention, without limiting myself thereto, 'what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows;

1. The process of rolling which comprises a series of two or more similar operations involving lateral spreading of a suitable billet or blank with comparatlvely slight reof opposite sides to reduce the duction of cross-sectional area in proportion to the increase in width to produce a Wide shallow section having short heavyrflanges followed b repeated working of opposite sides to re use and spread the flanges.

The process .of rolling which comprises.

a series of two or more similar operations involving lateral spreading of a suitable billet or blank to produce a wide shallow section having short heavy flanges" followed by repeated working of opposite sides to reduce the web and flanges in proportion and spread the latter.

I 3. The process of rolling which comprises a series of two or more similar operations involving lateral spreading of a suitable billet or blank to produce a wide shallow section with substantially fiat sides followed by repeated working of opposite sides in progressively wider grooves to reduce and spread themember from the middle toward the edges to separate the flanges thereby formed.

4. Thepiocess of rolling flanged members which comprises lateral spreading of a suitable billet or blank by wedginglts margins away from its median vertical plane and flattening the connecting neck portion to produce a wide shallow section having short heavy flanges followed by repeated working flanged members of opposite sides to reduce the flanges and,

separate them. 5. The process of rolling flanged members which comprises lateral spreading of a suitable billet or blank by wedging its margins away from its median vertical'plane and flattening the connecting neck portion to produce a wide shallow section having short heavy flanges lollowed'by repeated working flanges 1 and separate them, said operations being performed with as little reduction in crosssectional area as is consistent with filling the grooves of the rolls.

6; The process of rolling which compriics V repeated like operat1ons operating principally upon the mid portion of a suitable billet or blank for laterally spreading it with comparatively slight reduction of cross-sectional area in proportion to the increase in width to produce a wide shallow section having short heavy flanges.

7 The process of rolling flanged beams which comprises a series of rollin operas tionsupon the midportion of the blank to groove it deeply and force the edges apart by wedge action followed by a series 0 rolling operations to reduce the web and flanges.

8; The process of rolling flanged beams which comprises a series of like r0 ling operations upon the mid portion of the blank each operating to produce lateral spreading with comparatively slight reduction of area and large reduction of thickness as lateral ill compared with usual practise, whereby light weight beams having very thin webs may be broduced. I l

9. The process of rolling flanged beams which comprises a series of like rolling operations upon the mid portion of the blank which comprises aseries of rolling-operations principally upon the mid portion, of the blank togroove it centrally and produce I lateral spreading followed by a series of which comprises a series of tio'ns performed principally upon the mid rolling operations upon alternate corners of the blank'tospread the flanges and reduce the web and flanges pro ortionally.

12. The process of rolling flanged beams rolling operaportion of. the blank to; groove it centrally and produce lateral spreading with minimum reduction of area followed by a series of rollin operations upon alternate corners 0f the blank to'reduce the web and flanges proportionally.

13. The process of rolling a flanged mem- I ber of considerably greater depth than width '4" from a billet of much less width than-the u depth of said member, which comprises passin'g'saidbillet through a wide roll pass-havmg working collars centrally of the grooves engagin'gthe upper and lower faces of said billet along the-mid-line and thereby channeling said billet and spreading the edges to form flanges, said sprea'ding'being carried to a width to per cent greater than that i 1 of said billet with a small reduction of crosssectional area compared to the change in shape.

14. The process of rolling a flanged member of considerably greater depth than width from. a billet of much less width than the fdepth of said member, which comprises passing said billet through a wide roll pass having grooves provided with circumferential wedge shape working collars for engaging the upper and lower faces ofsaid billetalong the mid-line and thereby channeling said billet and spreading the edges apart to form flanges.

5. The process of rolling a flanged member of considerably greater depth than width fron'ran approximately equal sidedbillet of much less width than the depth of said member, which comprises passing said billet through a wide roll pass having grooves with middle wedge portions engaging. the

upper and lower faces of said billet along the mid-line and thereby channeling said billet and spreading the edges apart to form flanges with a minimum reduction of crosssectiona-l area.

, 16. Rolling a light weight I-beam from a billet by passing the billet through grooved spreading rolls of considerably greater width than the billet, followed by elongating the flanged blank "thereby formed by passing it through grooved reducing rolls having alternating working and comparatively non-working grooves to widen and thin the web and flanges, substantially as described.

17'. Rolling light, weight Lb'eam' of dis- I proportionally great depth from a small billet or blank by first channeling and spreading it laterally in suitable spreading rolls so that it may then be rolled to final shape by reducing and elongating the web and flanges proportionally, substantially as descrlbe'd. 18. Rolling a flanged shape of the characandthereby spreading a narrow'billet to form a blank with relatively short flanges v wter described-by first channeling centrally and then rolling the flanges and web of the I blank to thin and extend them.

19. Rolling a flanged-shape having a thm web in proportion to its depth from fl'blOOlll or billet having a height approximately the same as or less than its width and a width less than 70% of the depth of the finished shape by a spreading and reducing process of the character described. 1

20. Rolling a light weight flanged shape having a web thickness substantially less than heretofore from a bloom or billet in one -heat by a spreading and reducing process of the character described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

NORMAN C. 'RENDL'EMAN. 

